


elision

by MythologyPastry



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Episode: s03 Chat Blanc, Episode: s03 Silence | Silencer, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, Love Confessions, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29259534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythologyPastry/pseuds/MythologyPastry
Summary: Marinette realizes there's only one person who has seen her, truly seen her, for all she is.And it's not Adrien.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 7
Kudos: 129





	elision

"Its ridiculous! Chloe said you needed to grow a pair, or else you'd just let your next girlfriend walk all over you! That's so cruel. She doesn't care about your feelings at all, or anyone else's for that matter."

Marinette throws her hands up in the hair out of frustration, barely noticing the soft smile Luka is sending her way. It's a strange look, one that always makes her uncomfortable, a buzz in her heart and blood in her cheeks, because she can't ever decipher it. How can Marinette solve the strangest puzzles as Ladybug, and yet he is such a mystery? "In a way, I think you're probably both right," he says calmly. 

"Augh!" Marinette throws her head back as she remembers Chloe jabbing her finger repeatedly in the musician's direction, a sneer on her glossy lips. "No! Don't just accept what she said like that. You are an amazing person, and Chloe can't see that past her own ego."

Luka grabs her by the hand gently, lightly rubbing his thumb over her fingers. "Okay," he says.

She looks at him without any words, an uncertain twitch to her lips. Marinette pulls away from him as she stands, and Luka lets her. He smiles more decidedly now, and they part without words.

And, as she explains to a curious Alya minutes later, Marinette thinks maybe that was a pivotal moment, but even she can't explain why that is.

But it's just what her gut tells her.

* * *

Adrien is going on another date with Kagami.

Marinette is not eavesdropping. Truly, really, she isn't. Not this time.

"What do you think I should get her?" Adrien's looking at his phone as he asks the question, and he meets Marinette's eyes with such a soft smile. He might be looking at Marinette, but he doesn't see her. That smile's not meant for her.

She grows more unsettled as she realizes it's how Chat looks at Ladybug, and it takes a lot of strength not to cry at the thought. Marinette feels her jaw click into place as she takes the phone gingerly from him, staring at the list of ideas he's cultivated.

"Kagami really enjoys fencing, so maybe you could get her a new sword?" The words coming out of her mouth don't sound like her, and her throat feels too tight for the sounds, but Marinette knows they're hers. "I know it's not on the list, but I think she'll appreciate one. She's always critiquing her form. At least, from what I've seen."

And she mumbles, "You spend more time with her, so you would know better than me."

Adrien grins. "Thanks, Marinette! What would we do without you?"

Once, just once, she would like him to ask her that and not mean her role as his classmate.

She laughs and says something nonsensical. Her face is burning, and Adrien just nods quietly. "Thank you," he repeats.

Nino whisks him away for some project, and Marinette traces the letters on her textbook, unable to will herself to leave the library. She sits there with her sketches in quiet for quite some time, too embarrassed to find Alya and confess.

This is when she must give up on Adrien, if not for herself, then for Kagami. Marinette means it this time. She doesn't want to hate the other girl just because she feels spurned.

Later, when the librarian gives her a pointed look and the clock is chiming, Marinette sighs. As she packs up her things, she catches sight of Luka passing by the bookshelves to her right. Luka's eyes meet hers, and he waves.

She waves back.

He smiles.

* * *

One thing that makes Marinette feel infinitely safe around Luka is the distinct knowledge that he isn't Chat.

Because Chat is in love with her in a way that scares her. Because Chat knew who she was and became Chat Blanc.

Because even when Luka was the Silencer, he never silenced Marinette.

Because he loved her. Even under the haze of an akuma, Luka loved her. He loves her.

* * *

Luka drops by her house one Saturday and holds out his second helmet when she sees him. Marinette's balancing boxes, and this reminds her of the last time they rode together. He hums before he asks, "You need some help?"

She holds the treats closer to her chest. "Take me to the Agreste household?"

He hums a tune once more, distinctly not her melody this time, and she laughs when she finally takes her place behind him.

Luka holds her hand when they deliver the boxes, and she only stammers once.

* * *

The sound Adrien makes when she detransforms rings in her ears like a gunshot, and he immediately shouts for his transformation. She looks up at Chat, numbly recognizes that Tikki's saying something, and proceeds to vomit out her lunch on his boots.

He tries to touch her, to hold her hair back, but it just makes her cry.

When he says, "I'm sorry," Marinette cries even harder.

* * *

It feels surreal when she turns Adrien down. His face crumples like paper, and Marinette feels kinda bad. But it's necessary, she reminds herself. She's seen how dangerous the two of them together can be, even when she's able to work miracles.

"We have a duty. We are partners first and foremost because we have to be." She sighs. "And I just, I don't want to date you. After you started dating Kagami, that stopped being an option to me."

Adrien's words are sharp and broken, like glass, when he asks, "You had thought about this before?"

She saves him the heartache by not telling him to what extent she had imagined, how she had always wanted this moment to go. "I did once, but I don't anymore."

"For Adrien? Not for Chat?" He laughs, low in his throat. "Why?"

The memory of rain, of a shared umbrella, of a soft smile. Marinette smiles because she doesn't regret that moment, but she lies for him anyway. "I don't know. Does it matter?"

Adrien shuffles on his feet. "No," he murmurs. "I guess it doesn't."

* * *

Luka gasps when she drops her transformation, but he doesn't grin. He doesn't smile. In fact, he doesn't say anything. He makes a motion as if he's going to touch her but must thinks better of it. His hands return to his sides. His face looks pained.

Marinette was afraid of this. She clears her throat and says, "Sorry, I know I'm not-"

"Did I hurt you?"

"What?"

His eyes grow frantic even if his voice stays eirily calm. "When I was Silencer. Did I hurt you?"

"No, no." The stress drops from his face, and this time he does pull her close, hands resting on her shoulders. "Luka, you told me that you loved me."

Luka chuckles, and she blushes at the feeling of his breath on her forehead. "But that wasn't when I was akumatized."

"Actually," she squeaks, "You said it when you were akumatized too."

"Hm," he says, pressing a soft kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for letting me say it the second time."

"Um, Marinette?" Tikki asks. "My cookie?"

* * *

Adrien isn't thinking of Kagami when he asks, "Are you in love with Luka?"

Marinette doesn't say anything and looks down at her sketches. She always thought she would do anything to have Adrien ask her out like he did. Maybe it's because he's not Luka. Maybe it isn't.

She really doesn't care which one is the truth.

"I think so," she says softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The laugh that comes out of Adrien sounds like it hurts, and she winces. "He's always seen you for what you are."

Marinette taps her pencil against the paper. "I think you're right."

"You deserve someone like that," Adrien says as he gets out of his chair. He's looking at her intently, but she can't meet his eyes. "Will I see you on patrol?"

"Of course. Ladybug and Chat are still partners after all."

He knocks his hand lightly on the wood of the table. "Yeah. Goodbye, Bug."

"I'll see you later, Adrien."

* * *

They're sitting on Luka's bed as he strums along, and she doesn't stammer when she asks, "Luka, can I tell you something?"

He stops, fingers idly above the strings. "Marinette?"

"I can hear your melody now, too. I have for a while now, and... I want to keep hearing it. It's beautiful. You're beautiful."

And the look Luka gives her makes her heart sing, and her head feels dizzy at the sound. He lays the guitar by their feet before pulling her close. Luka kisses her like she's salvation, like he's pressing the notes of their song against her lips, and it makes Marinette's toes curl. How they hadn't done this before, she doesn't know, but she's giddy at the thought he wants this too.

He lets out a quiet whine as she puts a hand on his chest to ground the electricity between them, and Marinette giggles at the noise.

Luka lets his forehead rest against hers as he pulls away, and she can feel him plucking at her heartstrings when he smiles like that. "I thought of something funny," he says warmly. "Something obvious that you might enjoy."

Frankly, Marinette would enjoy being kissed again. "Yeah? What is it?"

He bends down to hover his mouth above her ears, and the brush of his hair against her cheek tickles. "I did get a girl who tells me what to do, like Chloe said, but it's nothing like she expected."

Marinette scowls. "Ladybug doesn't count!"

"I guess not," he agrees, lips dragging against her skin. "But that's only because I'm not dating Ladybug. I'm dating Marinette."

And she opens her mouth to respond, but he's already circling his arms around her, and Marinette's eyes flutter closed as he kisses her once more. It's easy for her to get lost in the sensation, to feel like the normal teenage girl she always was. But it's also easy to feel like Ladybug, like the superhero she's destined to be, when there's magic like this ripe for the taking.


End file.
